Major success for Florida at 2013 Fish
All canoeists from club complete A grade race successfully.
Canoeists from the Florida Lake Canoe Club (FLCC) again did not disappoint after the club managed a 100 per cent success rate at this year’s Fish River Canoe Marathon held in the Eastern Cape recently.
In the two days of competition (from 27 to 28 September), a team of seven paddlers from the FLCC community youth development took on Fish, completing the 80km race successfully despite experiencing boat damage and injury.
Jennie Dallas, FLCC spokesperson says it was a tremendous effort by the locals, considering they travelled some 850km from Johannesburg in a branded seven-seater Voyager vehicle, thanks to West Rand Sandown Motors, Jeep / Chrysler suppliers in Constantia Kloof.
Getting to the results, the club’s accident-prone number one paddler, Shaun Maphanga, managed to finish as the top paddler on the West Rand despite sustaining another injury. While running on a portage with the leading bunch, and having put his hand down on the ground to catch his fall, a runner dragging his boat across the ground did not notice the fallen paddler behind him and pulled the heavy back end of the boat with the metal rudder over his hand, causing some short-term swelling and pain. He was unable to hold his paddle during the last 35km of the race, but this did not stop the dedicated canoeist as he completed the race and managed 63rd place.
Karima Hare, who has been in the community youth development programme for nearly seven years, enjoyed her first Fish as the first black woman ever to participate in the event. She now can add this achievement to the milestone of being the first black woman paddler in Gauteng to do a river canoe race.
Together with her teammate Archie Moncho, the pair had an enjoyable and exciting river race, finishing as the 356th double and 66th mixed double despite having damaged the nose of their boat, which led to their slowing down their overall time to seven hours and three minutes.
The other pairing of Donald Moncho and Macdonald Nkosi – who have been in the game for just one year – finished in six hours and 41 minutes. Siyabonga Twetwa finished in a single canoe in six hours and 39 minutes, and Melusi Nxumalo from Seekers Christian School in Florida who partnered with an adult novice, finished his first Fish experience in six hours and 50 minutes.
The more experienced pairing of Serge van Hee and Michael Benci, who were racing with the hope to beat Shaun, managed to finish 71st overall in a time of five hours and 45 minutes as the second West Rand finishers.
The Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon is hosted annually in Cradock in the Eastern Cape, and has proved to be a popular A grade race with a guaranteed water release. It’s said that canoeists flock to the little Karoo town to enjoy the wild water obstacles, chutes – waterfall or rapid – built over the weirs, and mighty rapids on the fast flowing Fish River. The race is suitable for novice canoeists, with the Fish River Canoe marathon being a first A grade race, and it is also a fabulous social away-weekend for the whole family, with bands performing and parties. This year included performances by Theuns Jordaan and Centre Stage.
